


The Price of a Smile

by palomino333



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Animated (2007)
Genre: Bounty Hunters, Brothers, Cyborgs, F/M, Kidnapping, Rescue Missions, Romantic Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-23
Updated: 2015-04-23
Packaged: 2018-03-25 10:36:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3807184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/palomino333/pseuds/palomino333
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-Animated. During a visit back to Earth, Sari is kidnapped by Lockdown. Bumblebee finds help to save her in the form of the jet twins, but the identity as to who placed the bounty on Sari's head remains a mystery.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Price of a Smile

**Author's Note:**

> This carries continuity with Once, and was done for a friend. After seeing my two Ratchet/Arcee one-shot, she was wondering if I could give Bumblebee/Sari a try. This takes place around the same time as my second Ratchet/Arcee one shot, which gives an explanation as to why Jetfire and Jetstorm are present to help Bumblebee, and Bulkhead is absent.

"What am I gonna do, Dad?" Sari cried out in frustration, burying her face in her hands. Isaac let out a sigh, pulling his daughter into a hug. Much to his shame, he felt completely helpless. Much akin to the rather lonely childhood she had led, Sari was once again marginalized for simply being different. She'd fought tooth and nail to keep the Allspark's remains from falling into the greedy servos of the Decepticons, and what she received in return was utter disdain from the Autobots for her transformation into a techno-organic.

She'd arrived that afternoon with Bumblebee, and after coaxing him to give them a little time alone, Sari broke down before her father. Though she had come home on an earlier occasion, she hadn't acted in this fashion. Isaac attributed her previous lack of negativity to the novelty of exploring Cybertron (what limited space she could without being swiped from Bumblebee) and trying to understand her connection to the protoforms (using every possible inch the Elite Guard allowed her) enthralling her mind.

"You can stay with me tonight," he offered as he pulled out. Her eyes lit up, and she nodded eagerly, a grin spreading across her face. A broad smile formed on Isaac's face at the visual of her acting like herself again, and at gain of the opportunity to nurture his daughter on his own again, if only for a little while. After all, Sari hadn't stayed over last time, for the previous engagement had served more as a status report.

"I'll tell Bumblebee!" She exclaimed cheerfully, activating her jet pack to zoom out of the tower. Her father yelled after her to slow down, lest she crash.

XXXXXX

"Man, how long does it take those two to talk?" Bumblebee muttered, successfully completing his tenth lap around Sumdac Tower as he waited impatiently for his friend's return. The yellow mech had missed Earth dearly, and was raring to race Sari across this alien terrain. Even though it was better suited to Prowl to say, Earth currently was a better place to be than Cybertron. Not only did he want to tour the peculiar planet, but he also wanted to have some time alone with Sari. The location of the previous Autobot base was placed first upon his list of tour destinations for this reason.

With everyone (save for Optimus) being kept in close quarters in Omega Supreme, cabin fever was settling in roughly, and so was the feeling of being watched. Sari had oftentimes apologized to Bumblebee for the inconvenience she was causing him, but he honestly saw no reason for her to do so. He'd dedicated himself to her protection because he cared for her deeply, more than he would want to express to anyone, save Bulkhead and Prowl, if the latter was still alive. Bumblebee jerked to a halt with a sigh of exasperation. "Frag, Prowl! Why'd you have to die?!" Though he had been a loner, the ninjabot would have been a much-welcomed guide for the younger mech at this moment, given the current circumstances.

Bulkhead was the same age as Bumblebee, and had just recovered from his class name of mudflap, so his knowledge of relationships was as limited, if not more so, than Bumblebee's. Ratchet was wrapped up with his ladybot, Arcee, and had less knowledge of organics than Prowl. And sadly, though Optimus had been in a relationship before, he was all but held captive from his friends by his new status as Magnus.

"Hey, Bumblebee!" He let out a cry of surprise as Sari landed on his roof. "Guess what? I'm sleeping over at Dad's tonight!"

He transformed, forcing her to lift off. "That's great! Party! Party!" He cheered, pumping his fist in the air. Sari giggled, landing in his servo so he could whirl her around.

As he slowed down, her expression sobered. "But we have to leave first thing in the morning, okay? The big 'Bots on Cybertron aren't gonna be happy with me being away for too long."

He waved his free servo dismissively. "Who cares? This is our time to have some real fun!"

"Yeah, but we wouldn't want Bulkhead to feel left out, now would we?" She asked, resting her chin on her palm, and tilting her head up with a quizzical expression on her face.

He conceded. "No."

"We'd better go call the others and tell 'em we'll be away for a while. Ya know, so nobody worries."

"About us? Yeah, right," Bumblebee replied sarcastically, earning a small smile from his friend.

XXXXXX

"Hey, quit shooting at me!" Jetstorm cried in frustration as his brother continued to do so, the orange mech's glossa held in concentration. The two Elite Guard officers had declared that they had desired to go to Earth to learn more about the techno-organic, which was true, but they also wished to sample the planet's video games in the old Autobot base as well. The secondary reason, however, was hidden from their approving officers.

They had decided to retreat to the base for a while after seeing her reunite with her parental organic, for they easily would have been detected by either the tower or Bumblebee, who had shooed them away before his hybrid friend had noticed their presence. The twins, while they could have pulled rank on him, decided to seize their excuse for rest and relaxation. A communications tower back on Cybertron would contact them as soon as the two they were "monitoring" were beginning to cross back over.

"Well, shoot back, brother! Or do you want me to win again?" Jetfire teased.

Their playful banter was interrupted by the sound of a rather small and low to the ground jet engine whizzing by outside, followed by the sound of a car speeding after it. "The techno-organic!" The twins cried out in unison, dropping their controllers. Surprise gripped them as they broke into the moonlight, three hours having vanished from them.

"Where'd she go?" Jetfire asked.

His brother shrugged. "Let's split up. She couldn't have gone far."

"Right! I'll take north and east!"

"Hey, I wanted north and east!"

XXXXXX

"I've missed this," Sari whispered from where she sat on Bumblebee's hood. With a sigh, she leaned back on his windshield. They were parked near the Lake Erie shore, a breathtaking view standing before them. Detroit glowed in spectacular shades of blue, yellow, orange, green, and red. Beyond the cinnamon-colored sand, the lake's ebony surface, serving as the city's mirror, was occasionally rippled by the hulking boats passing across it. The groans of the ships, and the clanging bells of the buoys created a haunting ambience. This was contrasted by the lively sounds of car engines revving on inland highway. Further away from the city's reflection, the minute, milky points of stars appeared on the water's surface. Beyond that was the mysterious Dinobot Island. Strange black shapes, silhouetted by the moon above, moved back and forth on its terrain. They were too far away for Bumblebee or Sari to determine if they were Dinobots or Constructions.

"If you think this is pretty, just imagine what the city's like!" Bumblebee exclaimed, revving his engine to display his level of excitement.

"You just love the city, don't you?" she teased, putting her hands behind her head.

"After that whole camping thing? Uh, yeah!" He realized too late what memory he'd brought up, and let out a sigh, echoed by one emanating from his friend.

"Prowl would probably complain about Detroit's 'annoying lights' hiding the stars from view." Sari murmured as she thought back on him. She sniffed, the corners of her eyes stinging from the formation of tears. One of Bumblebee's hands, gigantic in comparison to her own, stroked her hair.

"My fault. I didn't mean to bring it up." he comforted.

"Aw, I think he deserves a better remembrance than that."

Sari's breath caught in her throat, and Bumblebee gave a start. Transforming, he flung her into the air to catch her in his servos. "A little warning next time?" Sari muttered testily, glaring up at her handler. Her annoyance was ignored, for Bumblebee had his attention focused on the unwelcomed visitor standing before them.

Lockdown's crimson optics gleamed as he emerged from behind a rather damp clump of boulders that had tumbled down from the storm drain's foundation above. His hook switched to a poised position as he neared the pair, a cocky grin on his face.

"What the frag do you want?" Bumblebee growled as Sari peeked out between his fingers at the new menace with wide eyes.

The bounty hunter snapped his fingers on his good servo. Holding it out, palm up, he replied, "Simple, her."

"Not a chance!" Sari snapped as her friend bristled at the statement.

Lockdown chuckled, lowering his hook back to his side. "Prowl would've leapt for my throat if he'd heard me say that."

"What, you think I'm weaker than him?!" The yellow mech challenged.

As Lockdown threw back his processor for a hearty laugh, Sari nodded at her friend, and took off with her jet pack. Electricity crackled as Bumblebee charged his stingers, his battle mask flying up over his mouth. His target regained control of himself, and stepped out of the way, stopping the lunging mech by catching his throat with his hook. The hook's blade began to cut into the cables on Bumblebee's neck, releasing static electricity and energon.

"BUMBLEBEE!" Sari shrieked as the yellow mech made a gagging noise, flailing his arms about, stingers still drawn. His battle mask fell back to its sheath as he attempted to expel excess heat from his processor. Lockdown held him out at a safe distance.

"Now I've gotta clean my hook off," the bounty hunter muttered in disdain as he dug the instrument further into the poor mech's neck, causing him to splutter and offline temporarily from the pain and energon loss.

Sari, much against her will, refused to budge. If she tried to attack Lockdown, he would merely drive it further in. She closed her eyes, and looked away. Her head swung from side to side as she frantically attempted to find an escape route. The lake was a possibility, if Lockdown transformed into a rolling, as opposed to a flying vehicle, but that was not to her knowledge. Detroit proper was too far off for her to find assistance in time, and he could simply catch her on the highway. Realizing the search was fruitless, she stopped, and stared back at the bounty hunter, who continued to dangle Bumblebee at his side. She hugged herself tightly, her eyes widening as his red optics bored into her. There was little doubt in her mind that Lockdown would wait all night for her to make her decision, his pose firm, his stabilizing servos spread apart on the sand, but not stiff, his servo held to his side. Prometheus Black had given her a similar predatory look when he had taken her captive, his presence awful to endure. Thankfully for her, his incompetence had allowed her to escape. She heavily doubted that she would have a similar advantage with her current foe. Bumblebee's energon continued to drip down onto the hook. Knowing far well that the time for deliberation was over, she gulped. "Fine! I'll go with you! Just leave him alone!"

Lockdown complied, dropping his captive to the ground in a heap. He stepped toward her, his servo still extended, and coaxed in a velvet tone, "Well, get on, little protoform." With a final glance down at Bumblebee, Sari complied, apologizing to her friend three times over in a muted tone as the bounty hunter's fingers closed over her head in a cage.

Sitting down with a decided thump, she crossed her arms, and threw one leg over the other. "Just get it over with."

XXXXXX

"Brother, come quick!" Jetfire exclaimed into his com link, quickly rattling off his current series of coordinates as the crippled form Bumblebee came into view beneath him. The jet transformed and alighted on the ground to rush over to the wounded mech. Picking him carefully up by the waist, Jetfire's servo carefully tilted the yellow mech's processor back so he could get a better look at the wound. It was deep, the energon loss concerning the jet. He gasped at the good-sized puddle beneath Bumblebee, the limp mech's legs dragging across it.

The young officer gave a sigh of relief as he heard Jetstorm transform and land behind him. "Brother, hurry, he's lost a lot of energon!"

The blue mech knelt down beside him, touching his servo to the right side of his visor. A series of dots, red, green, and blue, set upon an in-progress construction of a two-dimensional graph of Bumblebee's body, appeared to overlay the visor. Tilting his head back and forth to create a full visual of the wounded mech, Jetstorm declared, "According to the diagnostic, we will need to stop the bleeding, replenish his lost energon, and mend the electronic cables in his neck."

"Will we be quick enough?" Jetfire asked, lowering Bumblebee back to the ground, and tilting him on his side for the affected area to face the sky. Pulling a welding tool from his subspace compartment, he tested its flame by pressing down the switch. The blue spark was reflected in his optics.

"Yes, if you stop worrying," Jetstorm replied, nudging him meaningfully before rising to circle over to Bumblebee's opposite side, his gaze kept down on their patient's body, "We are nothing compared to that Doc 'Bot of his, but we can hold our own."

"…Right," Jetfire replied in an unnerved tone of voice.

"Here," Jetstorm retracted a slim funneling tube and pump from his subspace compartment, "We will combine our energon rations, and I will put them through." He gave his brother a reassuring smile. "I'll handle the wire mending if you want, and you can do the welding. Just like training."

Jetfire was still doubtful as he presented his rations. "We are fighters first."

Jetstorm's smile widened. "We are Autobots first. Autobots can't fly, but we can. It's just a secondary function. Think of it, brother! We were called the future of our faction; there's no reason why we can't learn another skill!"

The orange jet's doubts began to melt away, and he decided, "No, I will take the pliers." His twin proudly handed them over. "But look at the size of this, brother! Whoever made this, I'll be excited to fight him!"

After a half hour of feverish work, the final sparks were given off by the welding tool. Bumblebee gasped, sitting bolt upright. "Sari!" The jet twins ducked out of the way with cries of surprise. Pivoting blindly around on his rear end, he exclaimed her name several times, the pitch of his voice growing higher and higher with each unanswered exclamation. Gritting his dentals, he slammed his fists down upon the ground before him. "Slag, he took her!"

"Who?" Jetfire and Jetstorm asked in unison as they hastily stowed away their supplies.

Bumblebee jumped at their voices, drawing his battle stingers upon reflex to hold them out before each of his "assailants." The jet twins raised their arms to indicate they met no harm. In embarrassment, Bumblebee shot his stingers back down at his sides with a hasty "sorry" upon realizing their identities. The peace was immediately shattered by his furious exclamation of "Where were you two?!"

"Er— "

"What the—That's mine?!" Jetfire and Jetstorm let out sighs of relief as Bumblebee, distracted by the puddle of energon beneath him, jumped up, and attempted to scrub off what drops of it that coated his legs and the side of his arm.

Jetfire held out a servo to get his attention. "Brother and I fixed you! Please, who took your techno-organic friend?"

"She's got a name," Bumblebee muttered.

"Sorry," Jetfire apologized, lowering his servo.

"That's better. The bounty hunter Lockdown took her, and—" Bumblebee stopped short, his jaw dropping, and his servos flying to his faceplate in horror. The twins, who had been exchanging excited glances at the opportunity to fight the notorious mech, turned to face him in surprise. "Oh man! He might be somewhere in space by now, for all I know!"

The two simultaneously snapped to attention. "We'll find him before that happens!" Jetstorm exclaimed.

Bumblebee, however, paid them little attention, his servos sliding down slowly, his fingers twisting together before his chest plate. "No, wait, that's wrong, he didn't leave right away he took Optimus. Instead, he—" He cut himself off, his optics offlining as he cringed at the mental image of Lockdown looming over a restrained Sari with an ambiguous surgical tool poised in his servo.

Jetfire waved a servo experimentally in front of Bumblebee's face plate. "I think he has crashed, brother." He retracted it a mere second before the yellow mech's servo would have connected with it.

"We can't just stand here! Sari's energy signature has gotta still be fresh!"

XXXXXX

"Don't cry. It's just business," Lockdown assured his hostage in a smooth tone of voice, holding the jet pack he had procured from her up to the light between his forefinger and thumb for a closer look. He doubted it would find little value on the market other than as a trinket due to its small size and low tech, not that he intended to sell it. Rather, it would make an interesting keepsake. He smirked as he marveled once more at Prowl's uncanny ability to keep secrets from him, although, sad to say, it was a posthumous honor.

How the kid had managed to hide such an unholy being, a malformation of technology and nature fused together, from him was rather amazing. Opening that anonymous message, coded in binary and armored with all matter of security mechanisms and traps had been a rather pleasant surprise. While he himself harbored neither bias toward nor prejudice against the technological and the organic, so long as the client of either perspective group paid well enough, Lockdown knew quite well that others considered such a fusion a heresy. How this female managed to survive in this state, he did not bother to know, although a rather curious scientist would be more than happy to procure such information, and most likely for the greater good. The Elite Guard's security software was rather obsolete, after all, as opposed to his vastly advanced hacking technology, the best money could buy. It was almost poetic, in a way, that this techno-organic had been associated with the nature-loving Prowl. Had it not been for the hefty bounty, he would have considered the possibility of keeping her on. Well, for a few nanoseconds, anyway. Pets were a liability, and Prowl was dead.

"Sure, taking my pack is part of that," she growled.

"Might as well get comfortable. You're in good company," he replied, his back to her as he placed the jet pack away in a side drawer. Sari, following him with her eyes, noted it was set into the top of the far left cabinet from her.

"If my friends could get out of here, then so can I!" Unfortunately, she knew quite well that she could not reinforce her statement. Strapped down heavily by her arms and legs to a rather small table, with an additional leather strap to hold her head in place, Sari was sure of the fact that she would not be getting far. She mentally patted herself on the back for not choosing to head back into Detroit, saving her father from Lockdown's path. The self-satisfaction was dashed, however, as she considered for how long the bounty hunter and been tracking Bumblebee and her. She made a mental note to get in contact with her father once, or rather, it seemed, if she found a way out of this predicament.

The lights flickered once, the sickly white ambience dissolving to a rapidly flashing red, complete with a high-pitched screeching noise. Lockdown scowled. "Care to tell me how many you have?" Gathering the question was rhetorical, and treating it as such, she made no reply as he stalked out of the room.

Left alone, Sari attempted to test her restraints once more, the surge of electricity cracking through her arms. She cried out in pain as the middle strap that covered her forearms sent the full brunt of the feedback into her. As she gasped for air, her ears picked up the thump of heavy footsteps as an undertone to the alarm. She gritted her teeth in frustration. It was probably Lockdown, who would declared it a false alarm, and then…Much to her surprise, it was Bumblebee who appeared through the doorway into the rather sadistic operating room.

"Sari!" He called in elation, "Don't worry, I'll get you out of there!"

"No, don't!" She warned as he drew his stinger, "If you do, I'll fry. Check the control module against the wall directly across from me. I couldn't see what button it was exactly, but he reached over to the lower right when he put me in here."

Bumblebee's optics darted over the buttons as he found a cluster of four in the area, arranged in a close-knit square. The top row of two were small, and circular, while the bottom two were longer, resembling more of an oval's shape. Jetfire and Jetstorm would only be a distraction for so long, and he had to make a choice. He looked spun to look at her. "I don't wanna hit the wrong one!"

"It's okay, just choose!"

"Easier said than done," he muttered to himself as he pivoted back around, a shaky finger hovering over them.

"Just do it, Bumblebee! I'll be fine!" Sari yelled.

Resolving to not think on it further, lest he lose his nerve, he hit the second circle.

"I'm free!" Whatever Sari was about to say next was cut off as Bumblebee plucked her from the table to hug her to himself. The two laughed giddily as she wrapped an arm around the side of his shoulder. "My jet pack's in that cabinet over there, top drawer. I'm so glad to see you're okay!"

"Thank Jetfire and Jetstorm, they came to Earth after us," he replied as he tugged the drawer open, "There it is!" He handed it over to her to quickly slip back on.

"Ah, much better," she commented, floating away from him to hover slightly to his side. With a nod to her, Bumblebee ran out of the room, Sari in tow. Red light ominously illuminated the hallways of Lockdown's ship at intervals, closed doors ominously barricading the bounty hunter's more private chambers. "He needs me alive, so let me fight him," she suggested, flitting close to Bumblebee's audio receptor, "If I can charge enough energy, I can at least knock him down, or disable him long enough for us to escape."

He nodded. "Got it."

Lockdown's hulking form was drawn slightly to the side in the exterior hallway, his servo appearing to be covering a wound in the side of his chest. Jetstorm was backed toward the door, his right shoulder bleeding, and energon dribbling from his mouth. Jetfire was sprawled on the floor at a crooked ankle, his one arm splayed out, as if he had been dragged across it in his offlined state. Jetstorm's visor glinted once as he tilted his head up toward Lockdown, his peripheral vision catching Bumblebee and Sari. The bounty hunter's servo was covered in his brother's energon from shattering the left side of his faceplate, as well as heavily damaging his chest plate, and denting his left wing. The faceplate would need re-grafted, with a new left optic, but that was the heaviest extent of the injuries. Jetstorm smugly knew he was the more handsome of the two, anyway.

His own energon continued to drip to the floor from Lockdown's hook as the bounty hunter continued to attempt to coax him away from the door. "Really don't want to ruin those beautiful wings of yours. I went easy on your brother for that reason."

A bright flash, followed by a harsh bang, shone behind Lockdown before he crumpled to the floor lifelessly. Sari and Bumblebee rushed over to him, the latter kneeling down to gingerly pick Jetfire up off the floor while Jetstorm procured a set of stasis cuffs from his subspace compartment. Despite the pain in his shoulder and his mouth, he couldn't help but grin. He and his brother would be given the honor of capturing one of the greatest criminals Cybertron had ever known, after all. He couldn't wait to see the look on Jetfire's faceplate after being told the news.

Just as he opened the cuffs, however, an alert appeared on his visor, detailing a transmission from the Elite Guard Headquarters. "Lieutenant Jetstorm reporting, sir. Lieutenant Jetfire is wounded at the moment. I am about to apprehend the bounty hunter known as Lockdown. Please have a security force standing by."

"Lieutenant, do not apprehend him."

He paused at that, and believed for a moment that his audio receptors had malfunctioned. "…Sir? Could I hear that command again, please?"

"Lieutenant, do not apprehend, that is a direct order."

Jetstorm hesitated as the techno-organic hovered in the air before him, her arms folded, and her eyebrow raised. His mouth fell open. Surely, surely there had to be a mistake!

"Lieutenant, order confirmation?"

He sighed as he glanced down at Jetfire's bent head, his body over Bumblebee's shoulder. "Confirmed, sir. Will not apprehend." The transmission was cut as Jetstorm replaced the stasis cuffs.

XXXXXX

"I'm debating whether or not to hold an inquiry," Ratchet growled as he inspected Bumblebee's neck.

"Against Jetfire and Jetstorm? No way!" Sari exclaimed, hopping up from where she was standing on the medical berth next to Bumblebee's servo.

"I wouldn't do that! Give me some credit!" Ratchet scolded, "I meant against the higher-ups. It's their fault this had happened to you."

"What do you mean?" Bulkhead asked from where he stood on the other side of the berth, worriedly watching the inspection.

"If they would've sent more guards to watch you two, none of this—" he stopped to point at Bumblebee's neck, "Would've happened. Those twins would also not be in the Elite Guard infirmary right now."

"But if they did send more of the Elite Guard to Earth, that would cause problems, right?" Sari asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not quite," Sari's puzzled expression turned to face Arcee, who was standing at the berth's front, "Some of the Elite Guard's members, Jazz for example, are more open-minded to organics, and others are simply indifferent."

"But it's the few that frag things up for everyone, isn't it?" Bumblebee muttered.

She nodded. "Correct."

"Mark my words, I'm gonna speak to Optimus. He's gotta stand up for himself, or things'll only get worse." Looking over at Bumblebee, Ratchet added, "The neck's fine for now, but I'll want to have a look at it tomorrow morning. In the meantime, we should all get some rest." Arcee wished everyone a good night, and followed Ratchet out of the room. Bulkhead let out a moan of agony, and apologized for not being there, which Sari and Bumblebee assured him at least five times that he was forgiven. Finally, he left.

"Hey, Bumblebee?" Sari asked, bringing her knees together, and her arms hugging them to her chest. "Is it okay if I slept next to you tonight?"

His faceplate lit up. "Sure, but on one condition."

"What's that?"

He held out his servo. "Climb on, and I'll tell you." Sari did so with a slight yawn. "Smile."

The corner of her mouth turned up slightly, but just as rapidly fell. She crossed her arms behind her back, and looked away from him in disappointment. "I can do better than that."

"Hey, it's okay. Here, why don't I—"

She cut him off with a wave of her hand. "I appreciate it, but not this time. Every time I cried or was upset, you and Bulkhead were always around to make me feel better. I know you aren't going anywhere, but today reminded me of a day when you weren't there."

Bumblebee frowned, and rubbed the back of his processor in embarrassment. "We still owe you a do-over Christmas."

"Uh-uh," she refused with a shake of her head, "You don't owe me any day. My point is that when I saw what Soundwave did to you, I, well, I honestly wasn't sure what to do for a moment," leaning back on a finger he had extended in the air as a support, she explained in a lower tone of voice, "But I didn't let that shock overwhelm me. You guys needed help, and I was really the only person who could at the time," she shrugged with a smirk, "Well, at least until I formed my own team." Placing her hands behind her against Bumblebee's finger, she propelled herself off of it to stand up straight. "I held my own as well as I could in front of Lockdown, although I still needed help. I told myself that he wouldn't see me cry," she paused before adding, "Even though that was really hard."

Folding her hands behind her back, she bounced slightly up and down on the balls of her feet. "I guess I know what Optimus went through when he got kidnapped." Stopping herself, she added, "I can't thank you enough for what you did for me in the past, Bumblebee, and what you continue to do now. But I gotta step up a little more myself." She released her hands, bringing them forward before her, "I will have a good look at those protoforms, and I won't let anyone who says or tries to do something to me otherwise get the better of me."

"And that's why," she concluded with a heavier yawn, lying down on her side, and propping herself up with one arm, "I'm gonna smile right now, knowing that my best friend is here with me."

Bumblebee grinned at her. "'Night, Sari."

"'Night," she replied softly, pillowing her head on her hands as his fingers closed over her in a makeshift blanket.

As she breathed peacefully, however, his grin faded. Ratchet or Prowl would have been more philosophical about the subject, but Bumblebee would have been lying if he claimed he wasn't disturbed by how quickly time passed for humans, as opposed to his own race of beings. In the space of a few years, the same Sari that eagerly jumped into his driver's seat to go along with the team on a mission was now rightfully demanding her place as an intrinsically valuable being against the most heavyweight officials on Cybertron. Maybe he had grown up a little, too, he thought, since he was yearning for the good old days of being back on Earth with that small team, much in the vein of how Ratchet would carry on about his time as a young mech. Whatever the case was, however, Bumblebee knew in his spark that he couldn't turn his back on Sari. Perhaps a savvier mech than him would have after the accident involving her fledgling powers that nearly took him offline. But Bumblebee wasn't that savvy, seasoned veteran, and he, frankly, didn't want to be. She, naturally, was the last person he saw before he lost consciousness, having impaled him by mistake, and she was also the first person he wanted to see upon awaking, to tell her that it wasn't her fault. Besides, he thought as he stroked her back softly, life was far too boring without her.


End file.
